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Steve Jurvetson, a partner at a major Silicon Valley venture capital firm that bears his name—Draper Fisher Jurvetson—has left the company amid accusations of sexual harassment. However, he is still listed as a "partner" on the DFJ website.

Jurvetson currently serves on the boards of Tesla and SpaceX, but he has taken a leave as a result of these allegations, according to CNBC.

In a tweet on Monday afternoon, Jurvetson wrote that he would be pursuing "legal action," but he did not respond to Ars' query as to when or where such action would be taking place.

I am leaving DFJ to focus on personal matters, including taking legal action against those whose false statements have defamed me.

However, Recode linked to a public Facebook post by Keri Kukral, CEO of a startup called Raw Science, from October 23, in which she wrote, "women approached by a founding partner of Draper Fisher Jurvetson should be careful. Predatory behavior is rampant."

Heidi Roizen, an operating partner at DFJ, wrote in late October that in the company's "entire history," there has never been an official complaint "alleging misconduct by anyone on our team."

"That said, during the summer this year, we heard about allegations of misconduct by one (and only one) of our partners from a third party," she continued. "We felt the responsible thing to do was to launch an independent investigation, and so we did. It is still ongoing."

Roizen also seemingly dismissed Kukral's conclusions, saying, "I don't need an investigation to state with certainty that this is patently wrong. I am too grizzled and old to write bullshit about a company to please my boss. I'm writing this because I believe it to be true."

In a statement provided to Recode, DFJ wrote that "by mutual agreement," Jurvetson would be parting ways with the firm.

"DFJ's culture has been, and will continue to be, built on the values of respect and integrity in all of our interactions," the statement continued. "We are focused on the success of our portfolio companies, as well as the long-term vision for the firm and will continue to operate with the highest professional standards."

Last year, President Barack Obama named Jurvetson a presidential ambassador for global entrepreneurship.

As the child of Estonian immigrants, Jurvetson is also particularly well-connected among Estonian tech startups—he was an early investor in Skype.

CNBC also reported, "A number of venture investors have been forced out of their firms in recent months because of harassment claims. They include Justin Caldbeck of Binary Capital and Dave McClure of 500 Startups."

UPDATE Tuesday 11:30pm ET: In a public Facebook post, Jurvetson wrote that the "allegations about sexual predation and workplace harassment” are "wholly false.”

He continued:

The headlines, so far, arise from the juxtaposition of events, and the wrongful assumption that my departure must be due to a conclusory finding from the ongoing DFJ investigation, which began not with a complaint, but with unsubstantiated rumors.

I left DFJ because of interpersonal dynamics with my partners. The three-month investigation, that has yet to conclude (and I welcome the results whenever that takes place), broke down a normal team dynamic into factions that isolate communications and defer to the advice of lawyers. Add a modicum of stress (such as implied allegations in the press) and deadlines (our annual LP meeting is today), and people show a different side of their personality. I did. So did my partners. It’s incredibly sad to see how things broke down, and the acrimony that arose between us.

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Cyrus Farivar
Cyrus is a Senior Tech Policy Reporter at Ars Technica, and is also a radio producer and author. His latest book, Habeas Data, about the legal cases over the last 50 years that have had an outsized impact on surveillance and privacy law in America, is out now from Melville House. He is based in Oakland, California. Emailcyrus.farivar@arstechnica.com//Twitter@cfarivar